Alex Frew McMillan

Hong Kong

Writer at The Street

Writer, personal trainer, editor, tennis player, reporter, snowboarder, scuba diver and long-standing Hong Konger

Articles

Plenty Riding on This First Trump Trade Deal... But Little Optimism

1 week ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

There’s a lot riding on this first trade deal of the New Trump Era. But that’s what we are promised we’ll get later Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump teased on social media last night that he would hold a news conference in the Oval Office to unveil “a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY.”The New York Times was the first to identify that country as Britain, and the BBC and most other news sources are now following suit.
Taiwan Dollar Zips From Boring Bet to Hot Money Trade

1 week ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

Asian currency strength is causing consternation for institutional investors and central bankers alike. There’s been a record surge in strength for the Taiwan dollar, while Hong Kong’s central bank equivalent is furiously defending the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to its U.S. counterpart. U.S. dollar weakness and concern over tariffs is ultimately driving the unusual moves.
Recession Likely Looms for U.S., Even If Today’s Tone Is Bullish

2 weeks ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

With Microsoft (MSFT) up 9.2% in pre-market trade, and Meta Platforms (META) adding 6.6%, my call to sell the Magnificent Seven, and U.S. stocks in general, ain’t looking too hot. We also have an inkling from Chinese state media that the U.S. side is reaching out to China. It’s a tentative attempt to start trade talks on what’s currently the hottest front line in the global trade war initiated by the White House.
Why Some Chinese EVs Will Accelerate While Others Get Left in the Dust

2 weeks ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

The shares of Chinese electric vehicle makers are bouncing today, based on the latest weekly sales. The numbers, coupled with the news flow on the latest on tariffs and in battery development, make for volatile trading in the sector. I think Chinese EVs make for one of the most exciting sectors in Asia, a combination of cutting-edge technology, consumer confidence, and low-cost production.
Asian Stocks Expose the 'Fairy Tale' of This Week’s Wall Street Rally

3 weeks ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

The two-day rally on Wall Street has some market watchers swooning. The worst is over, the tariff furor will fade, and we can return to the “U.S. exceptionalism” trade. I don’t buy it. From my view here in Hong Kong, this looks a lot like a dead-cat bounce on the way down. And indeed, we’re already seeing signs any rally is flagging. The issue of tariffs is not resolved, and will come to a head as we near the 90-day deadline for the crazy Rose Garden chart to go into effect.
India ETF Offers Safe Haven After 'Significant Progress' on U.S. Trade Deal

3 weeks ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan

On Tuesday, Asian equities are shaking off the outsized declines on Wall Street from the day before. It’s an unusual pattern, as I’ve noted during this period of heightened geopolitical tensions, higher trade barriers and large one-day market moves. Some Asia Pacific markets are resuming trade on Tuesday after a holiday for Easter Monday. That applies to New Zealand, first to start trade and ending the day with a 2.3% decline.
Asian Markets Respond to Tariffs. But Not How You’d Expect.

1 month ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan |Helene Meisler |Doug Kass |Chris Versace

In my last column, I described the calm as Asian markets hunkered down ahead of an oncoming tariff typhoon. Asian markets are being buffeted by the bluster from the White House. The so-called “reciprocal” tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump came out overnight, for those of us on Asia time. While stocks are hurt Thursday, almost all markets in Asia down, the impacts are far from uniform. Again, I would expect worse selling – if the tariffs actually go ahead. Markets doubt that.
In Asia, It's the Calm Before the Tariff Typhoon

1 month ago | pro.thestreet.com | Alex Frew McMillan |Helene Meisler |Doug Kass |Chris Versace

No one knows what April 2 is going to bring, perhaps not even Trump, but for now, Asian equities and Asian economies are responding … by making other plans. It’s the calm before the storm out here in Asia today. We’re used to battening down the hatches ahead of a typhoon, and that’s what it feels like on Tuesday. A day after export-heavy markets such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea sold off heavily, most screens are in the green.
How the bid-ask gap is affecting the deals investors are seeking around the world

1 month ago | irei.com | Alex Frew McMillan

Coming out of the pandemic, it seemed buyers and sellers might never meet in the middle again. Transactions ground to a halt as interest rates rose, prompting investors to re-run the math on deals that might have worked under old assumptions, but no longer did. Now, with interest rates in many markets falling, and investment mandates to meet, the deal flow is resuming. On the bid-ask spread and pricing there is, if not capitulation, at least accommodation.
The road to success: As the transport sector continues to face roadblocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, what does the path to recovery look like in 2025?

1 month ago | irei.com | Alex Frew McMillan

What started as a public health emergency on a global scale had spillover effects that went far beyond what, perhaps, most of us imagined at the onset of COVID-19. But many can vouch that infrastructure disruption compounded by inflation continues to pose problems. The transport sector faced an unfamiliar challenge — first a lack of demand, then a lack of labor, compounding a snarled supply chain. Even now in 2025, we continue to see the situation stabilize.